At one point in a time or another a man decides what the center of his world is. Now don't get me wrong, the man has many different worlds he must live in. We have our home life, night life, wife life, work life, and even social media life. Now for most of these, I cannot express how disinterested you should remain in my opinion. You are the leader of your life and you should let everyone know that. For me, though, I can tell you a thing or two of how you should dress and when to dress as such. Now the center of my morning world is picking out the right outfit to take on and champion the day. What is the center of that morning world you ask? The shirt. It is the first thing in the morning I choose. My whole day and outlook can be expressed by the shirt I choose. And don't worry I have plenty of shirts to choose from, so your style is sure to be detailed in this blog.

The Basic Solid

The simple go to shirt is always the basic solid color. My top three basics are yellow, blue, and white. There isn't a suit, tie, slack, shoe, sport coat, or article of clothing that you can't put with a yellow, blue, or white colored shirt. Consider the basic solid shirt your base and foundation for getting the morning started right. I typically choose this shirt on a Monday and Wednesday, these are the days I feel all I need is a simple and complete look. I say this because most of my meetings are on these days. The picture above hopefully shows you the ways to wear a solid: laid back, formal, business casual, or even when you want to lay down the foundation of your legendary power.

Choose by Brand

Now let us not lie to ourselves here. Every now and then we get brand happy. We also call it being a brand whore. So here are the brands I wear weekly in my closet: Vineyard Vines, Round Tree and York, Southern Tide, and Jos. A Bank. Some days you have to simplify down to the point that there is a brand you love, want to be seen in, and just plain do not give a crap what people think you look like. I want you to know that it is a o k. I do it on the weekly basis. Every now and then I will choose my Jos. A Bank shirt with my initials stitched in the sleeve just so people know I enjoy ownership. And trust me, I will own what I want, when I want.

The Plaid Stand Out

If you go into your closet and tell me you do not have a plaid shirt, I shall call you a liar. You either bought this yourself in a moment of weakness or got it as a present. I want you to know that I am here to let you know that it is perfectly ok. I am actually wearing a plaid shirt while typing this. Plaid has a made a huge impact on our fashion culture over the past 10 years. I own everything from plaid socks, to plaid shorts, to plaid pants, to well you know plaid shirts. I find plaid shirts hard to wear a tie with. Unless, of course it is a solid tie. The plaid shirt is what I put on when I know I will be put to the grind in a rough day at the office. No meetings face to face, just at my desk with my eyes on the computer going through document after document, and email after email. Use your brand whore personality to chose this shirt and you will be sure to stay a step above the person next to you.

Stripes and Short Sleeves

Now I agree with you at first look that this category makes no sense. However, these two kinds of shirts should really have no place in any closet other than at the back and not visible. This is at least true for dressing for work. I have two stripe shirts. People could care less to see me in them. In fact, people naturally look worse in a striped shirt. It is almost always unflattering and most definitely not appealing. Next is the short sleeve button up. The only time this should be worn in the work place is as a joke or during a casual day when you really do not care. It is hard to take anyone serious in a short sleeve button up so do your best to stay away if possible.

The Collar

Now I have three collars in my closet: the collar stay collar, the button collar, and the white collar. Now the white collar is the way to go on stripes or solids that are not white. If I see with a white color on a plaid shirt, I will refuse to act like I care about you. Even though the collar stay collars are beyond classy and show that you are here for business, it is the button collar that steals my heart. On a long day at the office, I can take my tie off (or at least loosen it) and still look like I came in to do business. Either way, the collar is your comfort zone. It is an area where you choose how you look and you choose how to make yourself comfortable. If you ask me, I say choose the collar stay to look formal and button collar for when you need to be formal but want to be casual.

In the end, start your outfit with the shirt. This is your foundation. This is where your image will grow from. It will dictate whether you go formal or casual. It can also dictate whether or not you can go from formal or fashion midday if you have to. Read the next blog to see how the shirt dictates what you put on next. Will it be a nice pair of slacks with a pleat or plain front? Could it be that sport coat made of cotton, wool ,or tweed? Maybe a suit to move you to the next level. Either way, I will help you dress to impress for your success.